Since their controversial 2-1 defeat by Tottenham on October 1, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have won seven of 11 games across all competitions (D3, L1) and are unbeaten in England’s top-flight. Premier League leaders Arsenal’s home win yesterday, coupled with Manchester City hosting Ange Postecoglou’s men later today means victory will see the Reds continue to keep pace with the top two.
Iwobi and co look to spring a nasty surprise at Anfield
Alex Iwobi broke the deadlock from close-range and certainly chose the right night to produce one of his best individual displays of 2023, as Fulham needed every inspired moment during a smash-and-grab 3-2 home win over Wolves on Monday evening.
A creative midfielder who divides opinion, the Arsenal academy graduate has since gone on to play for Everton and earned 63 senior caps with Nigeria, would’ve seen both his former clubs prevail in slender circumstances yesterday. Both would love him to produce another decisive moment this weekend, for different reasons.
The Toffees have already taken a chunk out of their landmark ten-point deduction, courtesy of Dwight McNeil’s effort away at Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s late kick-off, while the fans love nothing more than their noisy neighbours falling short.
It’s hard to envisage that happening here: Fulham have won just once at Anfield (May 2012) during their previous H2H meetings dating back to the 1990s and while their recent matches resemble a fair fight, Klopp’s creative depth suggests different.
Darwin Nunez was in red-hot form on international duty with his native Uruguay, but flattered to deceive vs. Manchester City last weekend and wasn’t much better off the bench against LASK in Thursday’s 4-0 Europa League group stage win either.
However with Diogo Jota (muscle), Thiago (groin) and Stefan Bajcetic (calf) all sidelined, adaptations are key – Cody Gakpo may slot into a midfield three after netting a brace, or not start depending on match fitness with the sharp turnaround.
Then, of course, you’ve got the Mohamed Salah-shaped elephant in the room that most teams just can’t solve. He’s a goal shy of 200 for Liverpool after 324 appearances (199 and 84 assists), has 19 goal contributions in 19 games this term and scored in each of the last two fixtures against Fulham. Will this prove third time lucky?
Given how easily they conceded against Wolves, and still look unsteady off-the-ball, that’s unlikely. A more pressing concern is, where are their goalscoring chances coming from if summer signing Raul Jimenez doesn’t get service, isolated alone as their lone centre-forward? They’ve got to maintain patience, easier said than done.
Willian has a tendency to go anonymous when you need him most as a dependable out ball on the wings, while Bayern Munich target Joao Palhinha must show discipline in holding his midfield position, rather than being more adventurous to exploit Liverpool’s own defensive frailties. It’s going to be a long 90 minutes.
Predicted line-ups
Liverpool (4-3-3): Kelleher; Tsimikas, van Dijk, Matip, Alexander-Arnold; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Diaz, Nunez, Salah.
Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Robinson, Ream, Bassey, Castagne; Reed, Palhinha; Willian, Pereira, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Picture source: Getty Images
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